


When Two Lovers Woo

by RedLlamas



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alien Courtship Rituals, Altean History Lessons, Falling In Love, Gay, Gen, Love, M/M, Meddling Kids, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, Training, brief mentions of sex, everyone ships it, nothing too scandalous
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-21
Updated: 2017-12-13
Packaged: 2019-02-05 03:49:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 9,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12786318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedLlamas/pseuds/RedLlamas
Summary: It happened, suddenly. Like when you enter a dark room, can barely see, until you turn on the light and for a second or two you're blinded by the brightness, but then your eyesight clears and you can make sense of the world again.He hadn't ever been in love.But the room is bright and he can see.





	1. No Man is Worth the Aggravation

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Denial is the First Step Shiro](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/344724) by tata-this. 



> Title from "[As Time Goes By](https://youtu.be/d22CiKMPpaY)"
> 
> Chapter title from "[I Won't Say I'm in Love](https://youtu.be/Tl0DMTlwLw4)"

It happened, suddenly. Like when you enter a dark room, can barely see, until you turn on the light and for a second or two you're blinded by the brightness, but then your eyesight clears and you can make sense of the world again.

He hadn't ever been in love.

But the room is bright and he can see.

~~~

He guesses he started slipping when he first met him. Coran was freed from his cryo-sleep, and was immediately ready to fight tooth and nail to protect Princess Allura's life.

Well, he guesses she might actually be Queen, what with her people being gone now.

The thing about Coran, is that once you get to talk to him and know him, he becomes a great friend. Coran and he bonded over the fact that they were military men and shared stories about their past.

Coran was, nice. He was very gentle, but had a fierce side to him. He was a protector, a warrior, but he was also a father and a shoulder to cry on. He knew he could count on him, and he thought Coran might think the same.

He. Wanted to tell him that. Wanted to tell him just how much he means to him. But he's scared, because he got attached so quickly. It took him years to muster up the courage to ask Matt out on a date, but now he's so full of emotions and want that he feels as if he's bursting with it.

Shiro doesn't say anything. At least, not out loud.

~~~

They trained together. Coran was a skilled fighter, and he taught Shiro new attacks. Shiro tried to reciprocate, and was shaky at first, but once he got going, his muscle memory was triggered and sent Coran flying to the ground. Apparently, Coran attacked him just so so that his body knew exactly how to defend itself. Coran was impressed and excited at these new course of events.

Shiro, though. He was scared, but curious. He guesses it makes sense that a different attack than what he is used to could jog his memories.

Before he could say anything except for a very blasé "Huh," Coran ran out to tell the Paladins and Allura that they should come and fight with them right now, you might learn something!

Shiro can't help but feel, let down a bit, because he wanted this discovery to be between the two of them. But he knows that they have to use any resource and knowledge possible to beat Zarkon.

The Paladins plus One come and get settled and watch Coran get the ever loving shit kicked out of him. Shiro giggles at the sight of a dazed Coran on the floor. Coran stares at him and starts giggling too.

~~~

He starts noticing things. Like how Coran's crow feet would be more pronounced when he smiled. (Shiro loved making him smile).

Coran had laugh lines, and forehead creases, and bags under his eyes, and his neck was starting to degrade. The few times he didn't have his gloves on, his hands were starting to wrinkle. Shiro couldn't see any gray hairs on him, but everyone grays differently (after all, he still has a head full of hair).

These were all signs that Coran was getting old, that he already was old.

But Shiro didn't mind, not at all. Back home on earth, people would talk about him wanting to be with someone so old and worn. They'd say that he'd be throwing away his youth, that he should find someone his own age, probably that he only wanted the old man's money.

But he's in space now. The only ones who would care are back on earth, because he knows that his Paladins would want him to be happy.

(Keith had always been nagging him about finding someone to make him happy and to love him. Shiro would just laugh and ruffle his hair).

The thing was, though, that his Paladins are human. Allura and Coran are Altean, they're aliens, completely foreign to humans.

(At least they look like them).

He doesn't know if it'd be frowned upon in Altean culture, someone so young with someone so old. (Not to mention that Coran was probably centuries older than him, with or without the cryo-sleep). Maybe they were fine with it, he'll ask Allura later. Maybe, because they were different species, it wouldn't matter.

But he doesn't know. So he'll have to know, somehow.

  


Shiro left his room to find Allura and ask her about Altea.


	2. That's Ancient History, Been There, Done That

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coran's views on the matter concerning a certain Black Paladin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from "[I Won't Say (I'm in Love)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl0DMTlwLw4)" because I fucking love that song

It was happening again.

Coran promised himself that this wasn’t going to happen again. He’d gone through enough the last time, he didn’t need to relive his past.

Especially not with

Him.

But,

Coran couldn’t help but find him a joy to be around. They were both military boys, loved having pets, had been entrusted with a mission, and although neither of them had said anything yet, he knew that they both felt as if they let the people most important to them down.

Shiro was unlike anyone he’d met before. Of course, he’s noticing now, having been a bit conceited in his youth, only focused on the now.

Shiro was soft. Shiro was strong. He was light, and dark, and gentle, and unforgiving, and funny. And sweet, and nice, and handsome, and tough, and thoughtful, and he’s the first man in ten thousand years to make him feel this way.

But it’s wrong, it’s stupid, it’s not supposed to be like this. Coran is supposed to not have any strong feelings for anyone else. He promised this the moment he knew that. That Alfor was. Alfor was.

… when his image was shattered in the castle.

(The night before it all went to shit, and the one before that, and the one before that, Coran had visited him, and talked, and confessed, and cried, and argued, and screamed, and cried some more. Remembering was nice, it felt good. But he left them for the second time in his life, and if Allura asked him if he wanted to talk about it, he would say ok, prepared to tell her about their relationship, but she already knew, had always known, please stop crying you’re going to make me cry.

They cried together.)

Ten thousand years passed, and even though sometimes he thought that he didn’t have it in him to continue, he thinks that maybe the years and the sleep were worth it just to meet him.

~~~

They live easily together. Coran gets up in the “mornings”, eager to spend the day with the Paladins, and Shiro. He knows that, as Paladins of Voltron and defenders of the universe, they need to be in constant shape, physically and mentally.

Which is why he has started to join them in their training sessions.

Allura was the first to suggest this, mainly because, as she said, “the best damn soldier slash guardian Altea has ever seen”. Pidge and Hunk immediately screamed “No way!”, Lance begged him to share stories of his time as an officer of the Altean army, Keith just gave him a thumbs up. Shiro raised his eyebrows and whistled, patted his shoulder, and said, “Well, good to know that you’ll be teaching us all the Altean army’s secrets, right?” Allura and Lance laughed at that, and while Coran did too, he couldn’t help but notice that Shiro actually did look excited at the idea.

Maybe he should.

~~~

Shiro fell to the ground again. He got back up with a smile on his face, not minding that he had, in fact, fallen onto that face not five minutes ago. He just won’t quit.

“Come on, old man, is that all you got?” he taunts.

Coran smirked, and got into an older stance for an older attack he’d learned from a friend. “Oh no, not quite.”

Shiro was about to reply when Coran’s fist went flying into his face, making him lean back. Coran attacked in this way, and Shiro finally caught on to block and attack him. Coran turned to send his foot in a twirl, intent on kicking Shiro in his gut. But Shiro suddenly grabbed his leg.

In that moment, many things happened.

1\. Coran was shocked by the sudden reaction.

2\. Shiro was shocked by the sudden reaction.

3\. Shiro stopped thinking and let himself go.

Shiro pulled Coran by the leg closer to him, and immediately propelled him off. Coran was sent flying to the floor. He stays there for a moment, not knowing how to react, when he sees Shiro lunging at him. He rolls away, making Shiro hit the mat. Coran gets up, and starts fighting with Shiro.

It seems that Shiro knows the steps to this old tune. And while Coran knew them too, he hadn’t fought like this in a thousand years.

Coran would like to say that that is the reason why Coran hadn’t paid attention to Shiro’s legs and what they were doing when one of those legs can up between them and kicked him square in the chest, sending him dropping heavily to the floor.

(It definitely wasn’t because Coran was lost in his own mind, thinking about how strong Shiro’s arms looked and how much power was in his body).

Spread eagle on the ground, Coran propped himself up on his elbows, and looked at Shiro.

Shiro looked back at him.

Coran smiled wide and got up to tell the Paladins and Allura about Shiro’s hidden talents. Coming back to the room, he thought he saw Shiro looked glum and sullen. But that was quickly turned into a smile.

They strifed again, with Coran sent back to the floor. But this time, he laughed a bit at Shiro, who laughed with him.

It felt nice to feel nice.

~~~

Shiro looks at him, as if all the answers to his problems can be found in him.

Coran looks at him, knowing he has all the remedies to his ailments.

He doesn’t know why Shiro is so interested in him. He’s old, losing hair, wrinkly. He’ll get the slippery soon, (even though he doesn’t want to admit it) and that’s a tell-tale sign of his age if he ever saw any.

Shiro is so young, full of life, fresh like a tomato. He should be looking at someone his own age, someone like

Allura.

Coran decidedly stops thinking about that, but because he decided to do that, he thinks about how they would be together.

He knows Shiro will treat her well, and he knows Allura will make sure that he does. Their current dynamic is healthy and strong, and he knows that they’d be unstoppable in battle.

A little part of him is reminding him of Allura’s youth and predisposition to women. The little part reminds him that Allura is young and fickle. The little part reminds him that she might not actually be interested (it helps that she had mentioned wishing to see Shay again).

The little part of him wants Shiro to look at him.

Coran snaps out of this momentary lapse, and gets back to checking the castle’s systems.

  


He sees Shiro run after Allura and ask her something. She clasps his hands, jumps up and down excitedly, and pulls him to somewhere in the castle. Coran looks down at his feet. He squares his shoulders and keeps walking.


	3. Now Add a Cricket (Just for Luck)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allura and Coran teach their respective humans about Altea, and Coran's respective human teaches him about Earth.
> 
> Lance still doesn't know if Keith is Korean or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from "[Honor to Us All](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnUEDaeoF0Q)"

Allura was overjoyed to be able to teach someone about her people. When Shiro asked her if he could learn more about Altea and its people, she just wanted to hold him close to her and shout all the wonders of Altea.

But she didn’t do that, immediately, because she’s royalty. Royal girls don’t fiercely hug their friends then shout at them until, like, twenty dobashes later, when it’s acceptable to do so.

She pulled him towards the classroom she knows that the castle has, Pidge had mentioned she had wanted to learn Altean. Wait a second, maybe she can also teach Pidge! Allura knows that the virtual classroom is a lot more … intense than normal classes are, and Pidge doesn’t deserve that trauma. So off they go on their voyage, to discover where Pidge could be at the moment, to seek out old textbooks and the actual classroom, to boldly teach what no one else has learned before.

~~~

Pidge and Shiro are sat in their chairs, facing Allura, who is currently standing in front of a board. She smiles.

“Today, you’ll both be learning about Altea! We’ll cover any topic — from the Wars of Tal-Russ to everyday life! From the latest fashion trends to the Fall of Mount Pharr! Now!” She slammed her hands on the table in front of her. “Are you two ready to immerse yourselves in Altean culture?”

“Yeah!” Pidge and Shiro eagerly said.

“Great! Now, let’s begin at the beginning! So, the Great Ahura Mazda was the only being in the universe. Because the world was so dark, He gave His eye in order to give us light …”

~~~

Coran was cleaning the air ducts with Lance. Lance was rambling about something or the other. Coran listened to him, interested in what he had to say about Earth and his family, because he knew what that felt like. But now, Coran was curious about the Earth. In its cultures, its peoples, in everything it had to offer.

(He’s not, he’s not, he’s not going to ask Lance about specific things. That’s, that’s not what he’s going to do. Not at all).

“Lance, can you hand me the rag?” Coran held out his hand from inside the duct. Lance went over to hand it to him. “Thank you,” he said as he went back to cleaning.

“Man, the air ducts here are so big, they’re like the ones you see in movies,” Lance said.

Coran chuckled, “Oh yeah?”

Lance sat by the entrance. “Yeah! In movies, if the hero has to get somewhere by the air ducts, they’re usually man-sized. Most ducts in public buildings or whatever are, like, just enough for a briefcase to slide through.”

“Interesting. Can you tell me more about the way reality is bended in movies?”

“Oh my God, where do I even start? There’s so many things they get wrong in them. Sometimes you can understand why, because they don’t have enough money to like, get a detailed historically accurate suit of armour. But sometimes it’s like, man, they didn’t need to mess it up, you know?”

“Ohh, I see. Back in Altea, I would always be frustrated that in our movies, Vath would be presented as a big, burly man.”

“Vath? Who was he? Was he actually a small meek man?”

“Nope! Vath was a big burly woman! She was the one who led our people to victory when Osbil was under siege by Chayb Swos! Truly a national hero.”

“Wow! Really? She sounds amazing!”

“She was, and I hate seeing her story getting tarnished.”

“But why was she depicted as a dude?”

“She enlisted in Osbil’s army under a male name. She had to join because her people was under attack, but her family didn’t want to lose their only child.”

“Ahh, so she’s like Mulan.”

“Mulan?” Coran stuck his head out of the duct. “Who is Mulan?”

“Aww man, Mulan is the bomb! She was this Chinese lady who went to war against these douchebags in order to protect her country. She had to use a dude’s name, too, because the Chinese army needed firstborn males of every family, but she was the only daughter of her family, so for her dad to not go, she went. And she saved China from the douchebags and got a boyfriend at the end.”

“Ahh, an honorable woman!”

“Yeah she was amazing.”

Coran thought. “So, are any of you from China?”

“Pffft, and are you from Osbil?”

“No, I am from Lachacia, South of Osbil. And the royal family is in the capital, Etha.”

“Oh, well, I’m from Cuba, Hunk is from Samoa, and Pidge is from New Zealand. None of us are from China. The closest ones we have are Shiro and Keith.”

“Really?” Now this is interesting. Coran sat in the entrance.

“Yeah, Shiro is from Japan, this archipelago off the coast of East Asia. And Keith is South Korean, and Korea is this peninsula that’s slightly above China.”

“Interesting. Lachacia is this series of islands. Etha is the capital, and the largest island.”

“Woah, where we were was an island?”

“Yes! Now tell me more about … Asia, was it?”

“Well, I could go on about it, but I think it’d be best to ask the actual Asians here. Although, I don’t know if Keith could be considered one anymore. Isn’t he from, like, Texas…?” Lance was now in deep thought, trying to connect the dots.

This was now a formal invitation to ask Shiro about his home. Granted, it wasn’t actually from Shiro, but he can now do so without it coming from nowhere. He remembered where he was when he saw Lance playing with a tendril.

“Hey, give me that, we’re not supposed to have that here!” He reached over and took it out of Lance’s hands.

“Wait, what? Why? What is it?”

“This is a tendril,” Coran answered as if it was obvious.

“…and what does it do?”

“Don’t you know what tendrils are capable of? Tendrils, if not handled correctly, emit a powerful gas that gives you scabs all over your body and can infect your lungs and STAY there for several years if not used cautiously!”

“W-w-what?! Then why do we have one here??”

“I told you to bring tools for cleaning!”

“I thought it would suck up the dirt! Like the suckerfish!”

“What’s a suckerfish?”

“ _Coran!_ ”


	4. And Even You Can't Blow It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge is exasperated. Shiro hasn't laughed this hard in a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from "[Honor to Us All](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnUEDaeoF0Q)"

“… so then I tell her, ‘My best friend’s sister’s boyfriend’s brother’s girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who’s going with a girl who saw Gled pass-out at 31 Flavors last night. I guess it’s pretty serious.’” Allura took a sip from her cup.

The three had taken a lunch break after Allura had relegated the tale of Queen Treinne, a girl who had sought survival in the times of persecution, and who had ended up the wife of the king. Now, they were just hanging out in the kitchen, gossiping about what a girl had said ten thousand years ago.

“Please tell me she didn’t believe you,” Pidge said.

“Of course she did, she was in love with him. So then she rushed over to Gled’s house, but saw that no one was there. She turns around, and sees him flying on a kassa with Destin and Elm!”

“Wait wait wait, what’s a kassa?” Shiro asked.

“Oh, it’s like this griffin with a longer body and fins everywhere,” Pidge explained.

“Ahh, continue, Allura,” Shiro said.

~~~

“Oh my god, are you kidding me? You had volcano rocks as pets?!”

Allura had her arms crossed on the table, nonplussed. “Well, yeah. What do you have as pets?”

Pidge flailed her arms about, gesturing at Shiro and back to Allura. “I have a sheep farm! My family has a sheep farm back home! And when we got that house in the city, I had a dog! A dog, Allura! A non-deadly dog that wasn’t born in lava!”

Shiro was laughing at the entire situation.

Allura narrowed her eyes, “What are… dogs?”

“ALLURA!” Pidge stood up, exasperated. She stomped her way over to the board, grabbed a marker on her way over, and drew the best damn dog she could. She stood aside and angrily pointed at it. “THAT, is a dog, Allura!”

“… so just a non-rock biter?? That’s it?”

“That’s it??? Come on here and show us a freaking ebony biter, then!!” Pidge held out the marker. Allura stood and took it, and began drawing a biter.

Shiro laughed even harder.

“ _IT’S A BEAR?!_ ”


	5. New, and a Bit Alarming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's now the humans' turn to teach the Alteans about Earth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from "[Something There](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwZEcdBMLLU)" bcus yeah

Coran and Lance had, successfully, cleaned all of the air ducts. They were headed to the kitchen to get snack.

     Well, technically they were headed towards the bathrooms, because they still had to clean the west side of the ducts, and they were covered in dust and whatever that gray thing was, but they were hungry, so you know.

     As they walked in, they could hear the anguished crying of Pidge and Shiro’s laughter. Lance hurried in to see what they were talking about, but Coran stayed outside, struck at the sound of Shiro’s laugh.

     “Oh, hey Coran,” Shiro leaned forward to see Coran standing outside. Coran started, and smiled at him, “Hello Shiro! What are you all doing here?” He walked in.

     Shiro chuckled and gestured at Allura and Pidge, who were talking about something. “We had to cut our class short because Pidge wanted to compare and contrast different aspects of Altea and Earth.” They looked over at the two girls, who were this close to arguing  about something, with Lance egging them on. “I think Allura is winning just by sheer coincidence.”

     “Shiro. I don’t think you understand,” Pidge turned around and glared at them. “They don’t. Have. Sheep.”

     Allura sighed and rolled her eyes, “I told you we have a'la'las'fas. It’s the same thing!”

     Pidge turned back to her, declaring, “See, this is where you’re wrong. Sheep have wool, a'la'las'fas have silk! It’s basically a spider that just apparently physically looks like a sheep.”

     Lance was sitting on the counter, eating some sludge. “Allura, the thing is is that Pidge lives on a sheep farm. So, whenever it comes to sheep, it’s really serious.”

     “Yes, I can tell that,” Allura deadpanned.

     “Sheep have wool instead of silk?” Coran asked. Pidge and Allura nodded. “Cool.”

     Pidge immediately smiled at him. “If you think sheep having wool is cool, wait ‘til you hear about the different ways sheep are cool!” She opened her mouth to start explaining why sheep are awesome but Lance covered her mouth. “No one wants to hear why sheep are the best animals.” Pidge growled.

     Coran snickered, then asked, “Are there different types of farms?”

     Shiro, Pidge, and Lance nodded. They began to explain all the different types of farming, from wheat, barley, sorghum to cows, horses, and of course, sheep.

     Coran and Allura nodded along, both thinking about the poisonous vipers that many Alteans have to herd, or the slobi that, while giving Alteans medicine, has thousands of spikes that make it hard to cautiously harvest.

     “Do any of you live on a farm, aside from Pidge?”

     Lance lit up and said, “I have horses on my family’s farm! Oh man, our stable’s the best, it’s the most up-to-date, it’s clean, and my horses all love me!”

     “Don’t you live in the city, though?” Shiro asked as he went to the fridge to get some sludge.

     “Yeah, but I live in the part of the city with farms and horses. Have I never told you this? Pidge, I’ve taken you to my family’s stables, right?” Lance asked. Pidge nodded, adding, “Lance has a cool farm, but not as cool or as big as mine.”

     “Hey!” Pidge and Lance started “fighting” while laughing. Coran turned to Shiro and asked, “How 'bout you, Shiro?”

     “Me, oh, no,” Shiro said, bowing his head. He went to stand next to Coran, and opened his can of sludge, “My mom lives next to a river, and I live in an apartment in Tokyo. We don’t really have farms. Unless you count my mom’s fishing business, which is technically not aquaculture since she has, well, a business.”

     “Hmm, tell me more about your home,” Coran said softly. He saw Shiro look up at him shyly. “You’d like to hear about my home?” Coran nodded, a bit too fast, and he blushed. Shiro grinned and laughed, “Okay, well, what do you want to know?”

     “Everything.”

~~~

     Allura is good at picking up on tones and atmosphere. While Pidge and Lance started bonding over the fact that living on farms is definitely better than everything else, Allura saw, out of the corner of her eye, that Shiro and Coran were conversing.

She didn’t think much of it until she saw Coran blush at Shiro.

     That’s when everything finally clicked.

     The looks, the lingering touches, the laughter — Allura knew that something was going on, but until now she didn’t know for sure.

     They liked each other.

     She gasped and covered her mouth with her hand, then covered it with a cough. She sneaked a glance at them, and sure enough, they were engrossed in a conversation. By the looks of it, it seemed as if Shiro was talking about something, and Coran was completely enraptured by him.

     Oh my!

     Allura thought about this. They had to get together, it was just a Thing that had to happened, because they’re perfect for each other. They’re both soldiers, both had a war-stricken past, both had people who loved them and would support them no matter what.

     This is the best thing to happen to her in ten thousand years, seeing her surrogate father finding love after so many years. And she’s so happy that he found it in Shiro, someone they all admire and love as well.

     She’d have to put him to the test, though, to Know for Sure that he’ll be loving of Coran.

     Now that she’s thinking about it, it makes sense that Shiro had asked to know about Altea.

     Maybe she should teach him about something else, now that she knew.

~~~

     Shiro was having a blast sharing about his family and home with Coran. They were both learning so much from each other.

     Coran was so attentive to his every word, he felt like a little kid, and a bit bashful. He was currently telling him about his high school days when he was practically part of every sports team.

     “But why so many? Did your school really offer ten different sports?” Coran teased him.

     Shiro giggled, and slapped his mouth, still smiling. How terrifying, giggling like a teenager in front of his crush. But he nodded. When he got his giggles under control he continued, “Yeah, there were like several more sports but my entire schedule was already packed. I had a meeting every day after school, for each team, and sometimes I’d have two on the same day. This went on for like two weeks until I told my mom, 'Mami, I can’t anymore.’”

     Coran smiled at that, adding, “And what did she say?”

     “She said, 'I told you so,’ and then asked me which sport I really wanted to continue with.”

     “And what did you pick?”

     “Man, I really liked all the sports, but boxing really stood out to me. I don’t know, something about it struck out to me.”

     “The call of the fight found a righteous youngin’.” What the hell is he saying, why did he say youngin’, oh my Mazda, he wants to die right now —

     — but Shiro is laughing, holding his sides. So Coran guesses it was okay. Coran feels himself getting redder.

     He glances over at the kids, and sees Allura looking at them. His eyes bugged out. She smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up.

     Coran wanted to die.

     He cleared his throat and said very loudly, “Lance we need to clean the rest of the ducts,” and hurriedly walked out, keeping his gaze downwards, ignoring Shiro calling after him.

     After walking for several more hallways, he finally hears Lance running after him, trying to catch his breath. “Coran, what happened? We were chilling! You were having bro-time with Shiro! Why do we absolutely need to clean the ducts now??”

     Coran got redder and just kept on walking. “We need to breath clean air, Lance.”

     “Coran, are you blushing —?”

     “LaNCe, if you’re not going to help me, go somewhere else!!”

     “Oh my God, you _are!!!_ ”

     “Goodbye Lance!!!”

     Coran stormed off. Lance ran off to find Allura and tell her what just happened.


	6. Who'd Have Ever Thought That This Could Be?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allura knows who Shiro liiikes! Keith is now a man on a mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from "[Something There](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwZEcdBMLLU)"

Allura urged Pidge to go work in the computers, saying she’d be back to continue their “lessons”.

The minute Pidge left, Allura pulled Shiro to the side and just. Grinned at him. It was very confusing.

“… what.”

“I know who you liiike!” She sing-songed.

Shiro was about to refute that. He opened his mouth, closed it, pointed at her and opened his mouth again, then lowered his hand. “No you don’t,” he ended lamely.

Allura had what could be called a shit-eating grin. “Yes I do!”

“And how could you possibly have figured out who it was?” He crossed his arms.

She mocked him by crossing her arms. “Who else here is your ‘bro’?”

He slightly narrowed his eyes. “… I am bros with everyone here. Even with you.”

She slightly narrowed her eyes. “You don’t make heart eyes at me.”

“Have I ever made heart eyes at anyone?”

“To your soulmate, that’s for sure.”

“And who just might be this 'soulmate’ of mine?”

“Coran, of course!!”

He immediately shushed her and looked around. No one was around. He turned back to her. “I obviously do not have a crush on Coran.”

She rolled her eyes at him, and pushed his hands away. “You obviously do. So tell me, how did you fall in love?”

Shiro pinked, replying, “I’m not gonna tell you anything.”

She looked shocked. “What? Why!”

“Because you’re either gonna tell him or you’re going to intervene and make me look like a fool when he says that he doesn’t like me back.”

“Aha! So you DO like him!”

Shiro covered his face and began to walk away. Allura caught his arm and made him stay.

They saw Lance run by, then double back to the kitchen. “ALLURA, you will not believe what just happened!!! Oh, hey Shiro.”

“Hi Lance.”

“Lance, what will you say to me?”

Lance thought about that, tapping his hand on the entrance. “Uh, maybe it’d be best if I told you later … bye.” He left.

“Allura, will you please let go of me now.”

“Nope! Today we will begin a new lesson, just for you,” she declared as she pulled him to the class again.

“Oh my God, what is it?” Shiro moaned.

She turned to him with a glint in her eye.

“How to Woo Alteans 101.”

~~~

Lance searched all around for Hunk. Anytime something happened, he was the first person he told. When he finally found him though, it was rather … interesting.

For starters, Hunk found him instead. He was accompanied by Keith. Who were both on scooters. Space scooters.

“Are those… scooters?” Lance asked.

“We found space scooters!” Hunk answered. Keith nodded, a smile on his face.

“Nice! Anyways, Hunk, and I guess Keith too, you will not bELIEVE what just happened!” Lance exclaimed, shaking their shoulders.

“Ah, man, spill!” Hunk said.

“Okay, so, I was running after Coran to catch up to him, because he said we had to leave and get to cleaning the air ducts. So I’m asking him, 'hey, why are you in such a rush, we were chilling hanging out with our bros, you got to have bro time with Shiro,’ because you knwo, they’re the Adults here and they should be friends. SO! Coran starts fucking blushing and I’m here like, 'woah, what?!’, so now I’m thinking, 'why is he blushing right when I said he was having bro time with Shiro?’ So, from that observation, I’m thinking, 'dude, he probably likes Shiro!’”

At that Keith immediately reacted, dropped his scooter, and started running away. Lance and Hunk just stood there, looking after him. Hunk turned back to Lance and started shaking his arms. “Dude! Coran’s in love with Shiro? Then why did he interrupt his own 'bro time’ with him to clean the ducts?”

Lance shrugged, replying, “I don’t know, maybe he was afraid he was being too obvious?”

“Hmm. We need to get them together.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking!”

“Okay, let’s go find Coran, and teach him about humans and love.”

“Right!” And off they go, on a quest to find Coran in order to tell him about human courtship rituals.

~~~

“What is that 'round your neck?”

Allura motioned towards his exposed neck. Shiro looked down.

Ah.

He had nearly forgotten.

He smiles fondly, and looks back up to her, and explains, “This is the jade necklace my mom gave me before the Kerberos mission. She said that it was passed down from generation to generation, and that it would bring me peace and wisdom on the mission.” He looked down at it, and held it. “It’s the only thing I have left of her, here.”

“The Galra didn’t take it from you?”

Shiro smiled, and shook his head. “No. When they asked me about it, I told them it was the home of an ancient spirit that, if provoked, would manifest and protect me.”

Allura chuckled, “What did they say to that?”

“They beat me senseless and told me to not tell anyone of it.”

“Oh my Mazda, seriously?”

“Yeah. I guess they have some sort of respect for mystical beings.”

She hummed. “Well, good to know that they do. But that’s not important right now. What is important, though, is that you have to take it off, I’m sorry.” She held out her hand for the necklace. Shiro sighed, dejected, but took it off nonetheless and gave it to her.

“Why, though? Is it against dating laws that I wear necklaces?” He meant it jokingly, thinking maybe it had more to do with the stone or something, but he saw Allura nod.

“In order to get someone’s attention, you need to expose your neck and your arms.”

“To show how sexy you are?”

“… no. To show that you are a formidable warrior. Alteans place a high emphasis on fighting ability, and showing your arms is a sign that you can fight.” Shiro nodded.

She continued, “And when you expose your neck, you are showing them your weakness. Necks are very vulnerable and a good place to kill someone, so by showing your neck, you are demonstrating trust.”

Shiro was gaping. “This, is taught?”

“It’s picked up. Social cues. But it can be taught, when an alien individual wants to court an Altean, like you!”

Shiro covered his face, hiding his blush. “Yeah, okay, anyways, what else do I have to do?”

Allura got a glint in her eye. She started posing. “You have to fight him! Demonstrate your prowess! Let him know that you’re not one to mess with! That if the two of you join forces, nothing can stop you!”

She ended on a high note, her glorious aggressive stance oozing confidence in the fact that Shiro and Coran will actually be able to achieve that.

Shiro though, had his eyebrows raised and was full on shocked at this reaction. Allura looked back to him, and proclaimed, “You must also wear lipstick!”

“Wait, what?”

~~~

Keith was hunting down Shiro. After hearing Lance say that Coran likes Shiro, he has to make sure Shiro does Something about it.

Years of telling him to get a girlfriend, or a boyfriend, or an embifriend — someone — will finally pay off, unless Shiro thinks otherwise.

Well. Shiro is not going to think otherwise, because if he does, Keith is going to kill him. Shiro deserves to be with someone who makes him happy and who he can make happy, and dammit, Keith will make damn sure Shiro knows that.


	7. It Means No Worries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance _knows_. Coran hates him for that. On the plus side, Pidge now knows All.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from "[Hakuna Matata](https://youtu.be/xB5ceAruYrI)"

Coran was actually determined to clean the rest of the air ducts by himself, but all was a lost cause when he heard Lance, from several floors down, loudly sing-song, "Oh, Cooraaan!!!"

He sighed and massaged his brow. He really really really wanted to avoid the "bro-time with Shiro" topic. No one had to know about that.

Well. Now, apparently, Lance and Hunk are going to know about it. Great.

He sat outside the entrance of the duct, and waited for them. In came Lance bounding in, with Hunk in tow.

"Yes, Lance? Hunk," Coran nodded at him.

"You're in looove!!!" Lance started jumping up and down excitedly. Hunk nodded enthusiastically. Coran just stared at him.

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are." Lance stopped jumping.

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are!"

"Coran, I just learned about your amorous affections for a certain someone, and while I don't know all the details yet, I'm pretty sure you are," Hunk eloquently added.

Coran went pink, shaking his head. "I have no idea what gave you that idea."

Lance started, "I know that you like-like Shiro!"

"I don't 'like-like' anyone!" Coran claimed.

"Did you just use air quotes?" Hunk asked, perplexed at this sudden turn of events. Aliens know how to air quote?

"Oh really?" Lance began, hands on his hips, "then how come you were all blushy-blushy when you were chatting oh so intimately with Shiro, hmm?"

"It was from all the work I've been doing today, since you haven't really put any elbow grease onto your elbow today."

"Listen Coran, you're not gonna get the spotlight off of you by calling me out on my work ethic. Just tell us plain and simple: do you like Shiro or not?"

Coran turned around to go into the duct, calling over his shoulder, "I'm not gonna answer that, and you should improve upon your work ethic. Ta." He left.

Lance and Hunk stood at the entrance, seeing Coran crawl over to an intersection, and leave their view.

"I just remembered something from Friends that could help him admit his feelings," Hunk said. Lance nodded, took off his jacket and gave it to Hunk.

"Awesome. Okay, so while you remember all the details, I'm going to go after Coran. I'll be texting you our locations. See you soon, Hunk," Lance saluted Hunk and entered the ducts. He was soon out of Hunk's view.

"Alright, you do that," he called after him. He took out his phone and saw that he had received a message. He opened it.

It was a Lance selfie. In the ducts.

"Fantastic," he murmured, rolling his eyes but saving it nonetheless. He got another message, saying "Left, right straight, left." He replied with a "got it" and began walking in those general directions.

~~~

Keith skidded when he passed the gym. He went back to it, and saw Shiro and Allura sparring.

"Shiro!" He yelled.

Shiro looked up at him and promptly got punched in the face. Allura gasped and reached for his face, but he brushed her away, getting up and looked over at Keith. "What's up?"

"You love Coran, right," Keith went straight to the point.

Shiro nearly choked on air. "What?! Who, what, where, who told you that?!"

"Alright, thanks, so," Keith walked to Shiro and held his shoulders, "Look me in the pupil."

Fuck. Not again. Shiro sighed and crouched a bit in order to look Keith in his pupil.

"Since you love Coran —"

"No I don't."

"— you need to make sure you follow through with this. Remember Payton? How you really really liked them and they really really liked you, but you didn't do anything because they were gonna go to Spain and you were still with the army? Remember how I told you that you could have applied to be stationed in Spain?"

Shit. Keith was going to bring up every missed chance he had ever had. Fuck.

"Yeah, but —"

"And what about Jennifer? The moment you guys met, you clicked. But what do you do when you find out she's going to be a dentist in Washington? You break off every contact, saying that she should 'have fun in Washington', whatever the fuck that meant."

"Keith, are you seriously going to —?"

He got slapped. "Ow!"

"Yes I will, and now you listen to me, you commitment-fearing elbow!" Keith began. That got Shiro to shut up. "This happened again with Mark, that other soldier you liked! You really need to get your shit together. Stop fearing commitment and let yourself love someone, Shiro!"

"Keith, I really don't think —"

"Think again, Takashi Shirogane! You are going to follow this through, and you will end up in a loving relationship! Alright?"

Shiro was about to answer, but just nodded. He got slapped in the face.

"Good. Now," Keith stepped back and put his hands on his hips.

"What are you two doing?"

"I'm teaching Shiro how to woo Alteans!" Allura piped up.

"Awesome. Can I help?"

"Yes!"

"No!"

~~~

Pidge had finally gotten access to every system the castle had. Apparently, they had security cameras, which she immediately used in order to find her friends. She drank from her cup of liquid goo, enjoying each spectacle as she also figured out that the cameras had audio.

"Nice," she said.


	8. For the Rest of Your Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Coran have a heart to heart. Shiro and the training robot have a fist to face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from "[Hakuna Matata](https://youtu.be/xB5ceAruYrI)"

Lance had his flashlight on, and was getting closer to Coran. He could tell because he started following the clean vents. Apparently, Coran was indeed intent on cleaning the ducts by himself.

"Coran," Lance called out, voice echoing in the vents, "Coran please, stop running away! Just, let's stop, and let me catch up, so that we can talk about it!"

"Talk about what, exactly?" Coran yelled from up ahead. It seemed he had stopped to wipe down the vent-space he was in, giving Lance a chance to catch up to him. Coran was halfway into another vent, but stopped when he saw Lance's flash.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe the fact that you ran away when I mentioned Shiro and love in the same sentence, for starters," Lance reprimanded. He quickly texted Hunk their general directions and turned back to Coran.

Coran slumped, cleaning the floor before resting his head down. "I'm sorry for that, but it's just, it's, I'm —" He sighed. "I do love Shiro, just like I love the rest of you. But, I think I might be, be ..."

"In love with him," Lance finished for him. Coran nodded. "Well, then why'd you run away? Is it so terrible to be in love with someone?"

"No, it's not that, it's," Coran groaned, trying to find the right words. "It's just, the last time I was in love with someone, he died and I was asleep for ten thousand years."

"Wait, you were in love with Alfor?"

"Yes, I was. After Előkelő — his wife — died of war, I took it upon myself to dedicate my life to the well-being of the family. I became more than his advisor, I was his bodyguard. Along the way, we fell in love. We kept it a secret from everyone, even Allura. When Zarkon came to threaten Altea and its king, Alfor put Allura and me in the cryopods. But, before he put me to sleep, he told me he loved me, and he's so sorry he won't grow old with me. He kissed me, then everything went dark. After a while, you and the other Paladins showed up and woke us up. When I woke up, I knew that the love of my life had died, and so I promised myself that there wouldn't be another one to die.

"I tried to distance myself from you, calling you either Paladins, or Princess, or Number 5, but I began to know you, and I began to know Shiro. That was my downfall, I let myself open up to another person. And I don't know if he loves me back, but I do know that I cherish our friendship with my whole heart. I don't want to ruin what we have by telling him my true feelings. Besides, I don't think I'll be able to handle another heartbreak. If anything happens to him, I don't know what I would do."

They lay in the vents in silence.

Lance frowned. He scooted closer to Coran and said, "Coran, I know that you had bad luck in love, but you have a chance to fix that and finally have some happiness in your life again. It's like, when my sister Billy broke up with Jared, she vowed never to be in a relationship ever again, and then three weeks later she met her fiancée, Melinda. So, if Billy could do that, find someone who she really loves and who really loves her too, then you could totally do that, too."

"You really think so?" Coran asked, looking up at him.

Lance nodded. "Of course I do! Now, will you please lead us out of the vents?"

Coran got a determined look in his eyes and nodded. He got back up and began scooting down the vent shaft.

"Yes! Follow me Lance, out of the vents!"

Coran continued cleaning as they made their way outside, Lance texting Hunk all the while.

~~~

Keith's interaction with love had only ever been in movies and hippos.

He'd been helping out by telling Allura of human dating, with insightful input by Shiro whenever he could, seeing as he was now taking on the robot in a fight.

Allura and Keith sat to the side, exchanging information like two grandmas gossiping on the porch.

"You offer them flowers? Why? Is it an example of your harvesting skills?" Allura asked.

"No, it's because specific types of flowers have romantic meaning. The most famous flower to give is the rose because it symbolizes love."

"Ahh, I see. Have you ever received roses?"

"No. I was ... A hard person to deal with when I was in school."

Shiro fell down next to them, and heaved. "Hard? You threatened a senior the first day of class with a knife." Shiro turned to pointedly look at him. "When you were a freshman."

"Yeah, okay, Mr. Everyone That Looks At Me Falls In Love With Me, not all of us are as charismatic and good-looking as you are. Either way, after I dropped out, I lived in the desert in a shack for about a year or two. So, no Allura, I've never received flowers."

Shiro got up, a slight limp as he walked to the robot, who seemed to challenge him to another round. "I've given you flowers."

"Okay, yeah, because we're basically family, and you have to give your family flowers."

"But I love you, bro."

"I love you too, bro."

Shiro beamed at him, then was punched in the face by the robot.

Allura laughed at their banter. "So, flowers and roses are given to the ones you love?"

"Yes," Keith continued explaining, "You can also give them to people you work for, and for people you hate. There are some flowers that say 'I hate you' when you combine them."

"Wow! Plants on your planet can talk?"

"I wish. They just have meanings behind them."

"Ahh."

They cheered as Shiro finally started kicking the robot's ass. Allura gave him some pointers on what moves to use when wooing Coran. Shiro diligently took note of them, and employed them.

When he finally pinned the robot down after several more rounds, Allura got up and cheered.

"You did it! Congratulations Shiro!"

Shiro lay down on his back and punched the air.

Allura and Keith went to stand over him.

"Shiro, since you'll be the one to initiate the fight, once you pin Coran to the ground, you'll tell him about your feelings for him and ask if he reciprocates. If he does, then great! If he doesn't, well." She shrugged but then shook her head, clarifying, "Actually I don't think he wouldn't reciprocate you, so I'm pretty sure you have nothing to worry about."

"Awesome, okay, alright." Shiro got up from the floor and headed to the door. "But can I woo him tomorrow? I can't feel a good portion of my back. Or my face."

Allura nodded and shooed him away. "Take care of yourself, get some good rest, and tomorrow I'll help you look the part.”

Shiro waved at them and left. Allura and Keith could hear him groan and moan his way down to his room.

“I'm gonna get some grub, you?” Keith asked her.

“Likewise,” she answered, and off they went to the kitchen.

~~~

Coran popped out of the vents covered in dust, but looking happy. Lance followed, covered in dust and not looking happy about it. Hunk was waiting for them, and got up.

“Coran, I'm going to ask you some questions and you respond with the first thing that comes to mind, yeah?” Hunk asked.

“Um, sure!”

“Hunk, is this the thing from _Friends_?” Lance asked, trying to wipe the dust off him.

“Yes!”

“You're late. Coran admitted he's in love with Shiro. So!” Lance clapped his hands together. “Let's teach Coran about human dating!”

“Yeah!”

Coran looked, wary, to say the least.


	9. It Don't Take a Word, Not a Single Word

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But there's something about him/ And you don't know why/ But you're dying to try/ You wanna kiss the boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from "[Kiss the Girl](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXmLRHnoSAs)"

It took Shiro about three days to completely heal from the ass-beating he'd taken from the robot.

During this time, Allura and Keith alternated in bringing him food and giving him words of encouragement.

Coran was slightly panicked.

Hunk and Lance had taught him that if you're trying to woo someone, it wouldn't be wise to do so while they were hurting and healing, but that it was possible.

He had noticed that Allura and Keith would bring him food, and decided to bring Shiro something as well. (When he asked if he could bring Shiro his meal this time, Allura got very excited and all but shoved the tray into his hands).

On his way over to Shiro’s room, he got nervous. His hands were shaking, almost dropping the tray. He shook his head, steeled his nerves, and continued on.

His knock was answered with a very low, clearly hurt groan.

When he stepped in, Shiro was laying on his side. But when Shiro saw who it was, he made to sit up.

Coran set down the tray and pushed Shiro back into bed. “No no no no, you're very hurt and you shouldn't move.”

Shiro groaned as he was moved around. “But you're here, and you shouldn't see me like this.”

“Nonsense,” Coran said, picking up the tray and handing it to Shiro. He sat down at the edge of the bed. “I've taken care of and seen lots of injured soldiers, seeing another one won't change anything.”

Shiro pouted but dug into his grub.

“Why are you here?” Shiro asked in between bites. “Not that I mind you being here, I don't, it's just, Keith and Allura have been the ones to feed me.”

“Well, I thought I should relieve them today. And also, I wanted to know why you are in bed?”

Shiro blushed and cleared his throat. “W-well, I was, you know, I was, uh, training. A lot.”

“Wow, seems like you took quite the beating!” Coran smiled at him, and Shiro could melt.

“Yep,” he said nonchalantly, then continued eating.

This is awkward.

Coran looks around, trying to think of something to say. Shiro’s room is very neat and organized, he should straighten up his own room.

Coran chuckles at a joke Lance had said.

Shiro looks up at him. “What happened?”

Coran shakes his head, saying, “Nothing it's just. I noticed how organized your room is, and I thought, ‘Wow, I should straighten up my room,’ then I thought of something funny that Lance said.”

Shiro had an idea of what Lance might've said, but asks nonetheless, “What did Lance say?”

Coran looks at him with a smile on his face. “One day, Pidge said to him, ‘Let's get something straight,’ to which he responds with, ‘I'm not.’ He laughed at himself, but I was confused, so I asked him what “straight” meant, and when the Paladins all helped explain, I finally laughed and said, ‘Me neither!’”

Shiro didn't think it was possible to choke on space goo, but it was and he did. “You're, you're not straight?”

“No.” Panic now flooded Coran’s entire system. “Are you?”

“Oh my God, I'd rather die than be straight,” Shiro said with a rather straight face.

After a beat, they both laughed.

~~~

Coran was buzzing when he finally stepped out of Shiro’s room, a good four hours later.

When he stepped out, he was confronted with the beaming faces of Lance and Hunk, much to his horror.

“Sooo,” Lance began. Coran walked away, but alas, the two Paladins followed him and fell in step.

“What did you two talk about?”

“Nothing,” Coran dodged as he quickened his pace, settling into a trot.

“You just can’t talk about nothing for four hours!”

Coran turned to look at him, but saw that Hunk was already warily looking at Lance, which made Coran laugh.

“It seems that we found a way.”

“Ooo, _we_? My, already moving up in the world, aren’t you?”

“Hush, Lance.” With that, Coran waved them away before breaking out in a sprint. Lance and Hunk were left standing there, eating his dust.

“Lance, one time we spent the entire afternoon trying to figure out the reason why ships have those ladies in front. Also, remember that Coran’s in love, he’ll definitely find a way to talk to his crush for four hours.”

“Hmm, true. I always find reasons to talk to _you_ , don’t I?” Lance said with a wink, and Hunk just laughed, blushing only a bit.

~~~

Shiro was left buzzing in his room. His face was tingling from all the smiling.

They talked for hours, about nothing and everything. Shiro finished his goo, and he’d lain back down, and had invited Coran to scoot closer. It seemed that Coran had hesitated, but he laid down next to him, aligned shoulder to shoulder so that Shiro was able to feel the heat radiating from his body.

Shiro shifted to his side, facing Coran straight on.

There was a moment where the air stilled, their eyes met. Shiro’s gaze flicked from his eyes to his lips, and he licked his own lips. Coran’s gaze slowly shifted downwards, to _his_ lips, and he was tempted to lick them again.

But Shiro didn’t. Instead, he leaned over very slowly, enough that if Coran didn't want it to continue, he would stop.

“... Are you going to kiss me?”

Shiro stopped dead in his tracks. “No,” he hesitated.

Coran quirked an eyebrow. “Because if you are, then do it.”

What the fuck. “Do you _want_ me to kiss you?”

“If you're going to kiss me, you should do it now.” Coran shifted so he was now on his side.

“Are you saying that I won't be able to kiss you later on?”

“I didn't say that,” he said with a smile.

Shiro grinned. “You didn't say that.”

They lay there, waiting for someone to make a move.

Finally, Shiro leaned over and gently pressed his lips against Coran’s. When he pulled away, Coran had the dreamiest look in his eyes.

“Wow,” he said. “Thank you.”

Shiro laughed, and Coran did too.

Coran held his face and gently kissed him back, and they stayed there kissing and hugging for a little while.

After about an hour wrapped up around each other, Coran said, “I have to go.” Shiro whined and held him closer.

“Don't go.”

Coran pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I'll be back, don't worry.”

Shiro groaned but reluctantly let him go. Right when Coran was about to step out, Shiro called out to him, “You know why I've been stuck in bed?” When Coran shook his head, he continued, “Because Allura was training me to woo you according to Altean customs.”

Coran chuckled. “Lance and Hunk have been giving me pointers on how to date humans.”

They smiled at each other, then Coran left.

Shiro was left with a buzzing in his body.


	10. Go On and Kiss the Boy (Kiss the Boy)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge already knew. But it doesn't matter, because now Shiro and Coran are together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from "[Kiss the Girl](https://youtu.be/tXmLRHnoSAs)"
> 
> Fic inspired by [this post](https://tata-this.tumblr.com/post/150080127050/hi-i-am-a-hardcore-shipper-of-alforan-it-is)

When Shiro finally healed, he went to the common room and sat down, comfortably lounging.

“Hey Shiro,” Pidge said as she sat down, laptop in hand.

“Hey Pidge, how have you been?”

“I've been good! I've updated the castle’s VA systems, and made the security cameras by entrances hypersensitive to any unknown form.” She had a gleam in her eye. Shiro liked seeing her happy.

“Yeah?”

“Mhmm!”

“That's pretty dope.”

“Oh my God, did you just use “dope” in this year, of our Lord?” Pidge looked mildly horrified. Shiro had an evil gleam in his eye.

“Totally, brotato.”

“Don't speak to me ever again.”

Shiro laughed at that, and when his laughs subsided, he asked her, “Did you ever continue the Altean classes with Allura? Sorry I had to step out.”

She looked up from whatever it was she was coding. “Umm, yes, actually! Learning with her is kind of like Duolingo: she gives you a word, you try to translate it, she gives you a phrase, you try to translate it. If you do well, she gives you validation, and if you don't, then you feel empty inside! It's nice.”

Shiro chuckled at her.

The other Paladins started trickling in, seeing as how Shiro finally got out of his room. They decided that today was a lounging day, and even Allura didn't haggle them for it.

Coran came in with refreshments for the Paladins, and once they were all handed out, he went to kiss Shiro, then left.

When Shiro turned back to the others, everyone but Pidge was gaping at him.

“What?”

“Dude,” Lance managed.

“What.”

“You and Coran just kissed,” Hunk said.

“... Yeah? And?” Shiro took a sip of his goo.

Pidge snorted at that. But Keith demanded, “When were you going to tell us you two were a thing?!”

“Oh right. You guys seem like the type of people who need announcements, I forgot that.”

“Why are you so mean to us?” Hunk asked.

Shiro shrugged. “It's not my fault that I'm basically your dad.”

“Shiro, please tell us, since when did you and Coran get together?” Allura asked.

Shiro wanted to tease them and withhold that particular piece of information, but Pidge beat him to it by saying, “Since yesterday.”

“WHAT?!”

“Hey hey hey, how did you know?” Shiro asked.

Pidge shrugged, then went back to her computer. “I told you, I updated the castle’s VA system.”

The entire meaning of that statement finally sunk in, and Shiro let out a low, long, drawn-out, “ _Fuck_.”

  


Later that night, when everyone went to bed, Shiro snuggled closer to Coran.

“Apparently, everyone knew we liked each other, but didn't tell each other about that.”

“Really?” Coran asked, lazily rubbing circles into Shiro’s back.

Shiro pressed a kiss to his neck. “Mhmm. Pidge was the only one who knew we liked each, and didn't tell anyone.”

Coran smiled into his hair. “Oh, you Paladins, always playing jokes on one another.”

“Really? What were the past Paladins like?”

Coran ran his fingers through Shiro’s hair, gazing deeply into his eyes. “I don't want to think about old Paladins, I'm currently preoccupied with getting the clothes off of the newest Black Paladin.”

Shiro grinned from ear to ear. “You sly dog, I love you.”

That gave Coran pause. “I love you, too.”

And with that, Shiro and Coran entangled themselves together for the rest of their lives.


End file.
